Home East Africa Uganda’s Musambwa Island Being Spruced Up to Attract Nature Lovers

East Africa

Uganda’s Musambwa Island Being Spruced Up to Attract Nature Lovers

July 7, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

To preserve the integrity of the island, only a limited number of men are allowed to stay on the island. Residents believe the spirits disapprove of women sleeping on Musambwa.

Tiny island in Uganda’s Lake Victoria, Musambwa, or “Ghost” Island, is a famous tourist attraction. The island has rich traditions, cultural ethos, and spiritual beliefs that tourists cherish. Mostly inhabited by fisherfolk, the island is nestled on a five-acre land located in Lake Victoria.

The tiny isle can be reached via a bumpy 45-minute boat ride from the shores of Africa’s largest freshwater lake. One of 84 islands in Lake Victoria, Musambwa plays host to a diverse ecosystem. The island’s small human population lives in harmony with the local wildlife, including colonies of birds and several species of snakes. Over the years, Musambwa Island’s unique natural beauty has attracted numerous researchers and conservationists.

To preserve the integrity of the island, only a limited number of men are allowed to stay on the island. Residents believe the spirits disapprove of women sleeping on Musambwa. About 2,000 snakes are thought to reside on the island, including the venomous Gaboon viper and the Egyptian cobra. The fishermen believe these snakes possess supernatural powers and act as protectors of the island and its inhabitants.

Musambwa Island has become a popular destination for nature lovers. The island currently has just 125 residents. Despite its size, the exotic island supports large populations of African breeding birds, like the Grey-headed Gull, Greater Cormorant, Little Egret, and the Long-tailed Cormorant. Due to their importance to birds of global significance, the islands have been recognised as an Important Bird Area.

Nature Uganda sourced about Euros 30,000 from BirdLife International and a matched fund from UNDP / GEF Small Grants Programme to focus on ecotourism and livelihood improvement through increased and sustained local incomes. The principal focus of the proposed project is natural resources management, local community livelihoods, and local community institutional capacity building, as well as improvement of the general environmental health and sanitation conditions in order to stimulate meaningful and balanced conservation. and income-generating initiatives.

The goal is to ensure that the Musambwa Islands environment and natural resources are better managed for the benefit of biodiversity and the people.